Mechanical damping of acoustical energy is of interest and can be used in many practical applications such as minimizing noise that is distracting or harmful, minimizing vibrations that are damaging to sensitive equipment, and for reducing unwanted acoustic reflections and emissions.
Increased speed of modern machinery and moving parts thereof causes an increase in undesirable vibrations and increases the danger of failure. Another problem particularly associated with modern equipment is the danger of harmful noise the intensity of which is increasing with the growing number of high speed industrial machinery.
The damping or attenuation of acoustical energy is important at both low frequencies from about 0.01 to about 10 Hz and at higher frequencies in the range of 5 to about 20 mHz. Damping or attenuation is the ability of solids to dissipate the energy of mechanical vibrations in materials of construction. Damping capacity is an important property which must be considered in connection with other physical and mechanical properties and characteristics of the materials.
A number of metal alloys have long been known for their ability to attenuate to acoustical energy. These include a variety of molybdenum alloys, copper-zinc alloys, and certain manganese-copper alloys.